He has won numerous awards for his DJing and production, he has supported some of the most infamous DJs in the industry, and he has a love for pasties and cider.
So when HTF heard DJ Chamber was in town, we just had to sit him down and find out more. With an international fan base and an already successful career, the DJ from Bristol is about to embark on another major turn in his career and HTF caught up with him to find out more about one of the undergrounds most promising acts of 2012, DJ Chamber.
HTF: Hello there DJ Chamber, Thank you very much for taking the time to talk to us! Firstly we want you to describe yourself as an artist to those who might not have come across your talents before.
DJ Chamber: I’m a DJ and producer from Bristol, UK. I play and write a wide range of styles from bass heavy breaks, dnb, electro and dubstep to hip-hop, funk and reggae.
HTF: So how long have you been making music and who are your main inspirations?
DJ Chamber: I’ve been producing and DJing for about 9 nears now (since I was 14). My inspirations come from all the music I listen to and are constantly changing. I take a lot from hip-hop and breakbeat as well as the newer ghetto-funk style sounds. Hip-Hop producers like J Dilla, DJ Premier, Dan the Automator, RJD2 and the Alchemist have definitely had a big influence on my sound, though I also write a lot of music which has more in common with the likes of Pyramid, Aquasky, DaVip, Afghan Headspin and the Freestylers.
HTF: You have been DJing with some of the biggest names in the industry like Beardyman, Orbital, Benga, Dilated Peoples, Plump DJs, DJ Vadim, Ed Solo, Adam F and the list really does go on… How did it feel working with these guys?
DJ Chamber: It’s been a bit of a dream come true to be able to share the stage with most of my musical heroes at one time or another. I have huge amounts of respect for them as artists, and most of them are really nice people too. There’s definitely a community feel about the electronic music scene, and those who can work their way to the top without letting it go to their heads are legends in my eyes.
HTF: Out of the list above, care to tell us who you most enjoyed sharing a stage with?
DJ Chamber: Playing straight after the Plump DJs at Glastonbury [Festival] was amazing for me on a personal level because it was seeing them perform at the same festival many years earlier that made me become a DJ in the first place. Before watching them play I was an indie kid who had very little interest in electronic music and mixing, but I was so blown away by their set that as soon as I got home from the festival I began saving for my first pair of decks.
HTF: A little birdy tells us that you have made contributions to some video game soundtracks and also for a certain TV show; Care to tell us about this?
DJ Chamber: I’ve contributed tracks to the Arc System Works titles for PS3,360, Wii and PSP (including the BlazBlue series and Arcana Heart 3). Music from the original games is very eastern (a blend of heavy metal and J-Pop) so I worked on remixes for the European releases to be aimed at the western audience. As for TV, I have a cameo coming up in the new series of Skins; I’ll be playing the DJ in one of the shows infamous party scenes. I can’t give away anything about the plot or the things I saw on set, but it should be pretty spectacular!
HTF: You’re a DJ with some admirable accolades under your belt and the youngest person ever to receive a prestigious ‘Breakspoll award’. However, awards aside, what have been your biggest achievements so far and how did they make you feel?
DJ Chamber: To begin touring internationally as early as I did (I was 21) meant a lot to me. It had always been a dream of mine to see the world, and being able to achieve that through DJing is something I’m quite proud of. Making new friends and fans all over the globe has been an amazing and life changing experience.
HTF: HTF have been very lucky to attend ‘Bass Kitchen’ which is your ‘baby’ so to speak (It’s actually a club night arranged by DJ Chamber), and we had an awesome time! Can you tell us a bit about Bass Kitchen for those who haven’t been fortunate enough to go yet?
DJ Chamber: Bass Kitchen is a club night, focused on all forms of bass heavy music. We currently have nights running in the UK, Taiwan, Poland, China and Canada, with more on the way very soon. The idea of the kitchen came about from the ethos to blend and mix different ‘ingredients’ (styles of music) to create a unique and varied night out. When we originally set up Bass Kitchen (back in 2008), most club nights were focused on one or two genres of music so we were doing something pretty new and against the grain at the time. There seems to be a lot more variation in the range of music you can hear on an average night out now, which means I think we got it right.
HTF: We know you are very busy DJ, would you like to tell us what it is you are up to at the moment?
DJ Chamber: The biggest thing in my life right now is that I’m about to move to the other side of the world (as I’ve been offered a residency at The Brickyard in Kaohsiung, Taiwan). I am hoping to give the (still fairly young) bass music scene a strong push in the right direction while I’m over there, and spread the ‘underground UK sound’. Within the next few months I’ve got tracks coming out on Mutated Sounds, Kick It Recordings and Unstable Label and gigs across Taiwan, China, Australia, Poland, South Korea and Thailand.
HTF: Wow it looks as though this next year is going to be a very exciting one for DJ Chamber with some really big things happening for you. So where would you like to be in 5 years?
DJ Chamber: In a big mansion sitting on a chair made of cash, being served cider and pasties by my monkey butler.
HTF: HTF like the sound of pasties and mansions. So do you have any advice for aspiring DJs?
DJ Chamber: I could write a book on the subject. The main thing above everything else is that you put in the hours practicing and hone your technical skills. Once this is mastered, not only will you enjoy DJing to a crowd much more but you will also be able to spend a lot more of your set times watching, engaging with and reading the crowds you play to, rather than staring at your equipment the whole time.
Making the most of this comes about through experience – the more gigs you play, the more you learn to read people and get an intrinsic understanding of what they want to hear. I’d say anyone starting out (once they get beyond a basic level of ability) they should accept any and every gig they get offered. Each time, you will learn something new, gain more confidence and improve your ability to read a crowd.
A huge key to success these days (which is not talked about nearly enough when it comes to DJing) is marketing yourself. All the same principles of business apply to you as a DJ – networking, marketing, branding etc. These days, there are so many good DJs out there that you need something much more than just skill to stand out from the crowd. You should try to treat your DJ name as a brand and constantly think about how to effectively push your name out there (spamming is not effective).
It is also worth bearing in mind that you are constantly competing with tens of thousands of other DJs for the attention of your consumer market (the clubbers and promoters). Take every opportunity to grow your profile in a positive way, putting the time into this side of the game will prove invaluable in the long run!
HTF: Thank you for chatting with us and we look forward to seeing what you get up to! Anything you would like to add before you go?
DJ Chamber: Bigups to Hit The Floor Magazine, you guys rock!
You can follow all that is DJ Chamber by following the links below:
facebook.com/djchamber / soundcloud.com/djchamber / youtube.com/djchamber
Interviewer: Emilie Hickling
Photography: Courtesy of Megan Hillman Photography
